Legendary river whose turbulent waters did not flow on the Sabbath. Jewish and non-Jewish writers have described similar rivers, which they have located variously in Ethiopia, India, and near the Caspian Sea. The Sambatyon, an actual river located in Syria, has been pointed to as possibly connected with the fabled stream. The most famous of the tales about the Sambatyon is that of the 9th-century traveler, Eldad Hadani. He tells of visiting the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel who dwelled on the banks of the river.